Access to CD4 Testing for Rural HIV Patients: Findings from a Cohort Study in Zimbabwe.

ABSTRACT:

Background

CD4 cell count measurement remains an important diagnostic tool for HIV care in developing countries. Insufficient laboratory capacity in rural Sub-Saharan Africa is frequently mentioned but data on the impact at an individual patient level are lacking. Urban-rural discrepancies in CD4 testing have not been quantified to date. Such evidence is crucial for public health planning and to justify new yet more expensive diagnostic procedures that could circumvent access constraints in rural areas.

Objective

To compare CD4 testing among rural and urban HIV patients during the first year of treatment.

Methods

Records from 2,145 HIV positive adult patients from a Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders) HIV project in Beitbridge, Zimbabwe, during 2011 and

SUBMITTER: Vogt F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4471276 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature